Procedures for Resolving Health and Safety Issues

PROCEDURES FOR RESOLVING HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES

INTRODUCTION

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 includes mechanisms for the parties in a workplace to deal with health and safety issues that previously may have led to disputes. The mechanisms are:

· Consultation and/or negotiation between employee and employer representatives for the effective resolution of issues (Section26(1));

· Issue of a Provisional Improvement Notice by a health and safety representative (Section 33);

· Cease work provisions when there is an immediate threat to the health and safety of any person (Section 26(2));

The Act encourages employers and employees to resolve health and safety issues in a spirit of co-operation. Ideally, every workplace should have an agreed procedure in place to deal with health and safety issues.

Under Section 26(1) employer and employee representatives must attempt to resolve health and safety issues through agreed or prescribed procedures. The Issue Resolution Regulations prescribe a procedure for bringing the employers and employees together to attempt to resolve any issue in all workplaces where there is no agreed procedure.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (ISSUE RESOLUTION) REGULATIONS 1999

1. OBJECTIVE
The objective of these Regulations is to prescribe a procedure for the effective resolution at workplaces of health and safety issues as they arise, where there is no agreed procedure for resolution.

2. AUTHORISING PROVISIONS
These Regulations are made under Sections 26 and 59 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985.

3. COMMENCEMENT
These Regulations come into operation on 29 July 1999.

4. REVOCATION
The Occupational Health and Safety 9Issue Resolution) Regulations 19891 is revoked.

5. PARTIES TO THE RESOLUTION OF ISSUES
(1) An employer must nominate management representatives who are responsible for dealing with specified health and safety issues, and must, so far as is practicable -
(a) notify the employees of the nominations in the manner that is, and in the languages that are, appropriate; and
(b) notify in writing the health and safety committee of the nominations..
(2) If an issue arises before nominations have been made, the employer or, if the employer is not available, the most senior management representative in that part of the workplace where the issue has arisen, is responsible for dealing with the issue.
(3) A person, other than a health and safety representative or an employee nominated under sub-regulation (4), must not act on behalf of employees in that part of the workplace where the issue has arisen.
(4) If there is no health and safety representative, the employees in that part of the workplace where an issue has arisen may nominate any employees to act on their behalf.
(5) At any stage in the resolution of an issue, any party may call in any relevant organisation of employees or of employers to assist the parties to resolve the issue.

6. PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING ISSUES
(1) If an employee wishes to raise a health and safety issue in a workplace where there is a health and safety representative, that employee must report it to the representative.
(2) If an employee, including an employee nominated under regulation 5(4), wishes to raise a health and safety issue in a workplace where there is no health and safety representative, that employee must report it to the employer or the management representative.
(3) An employee may take all steps that are necessary, including leaving the employee’s part of the workplace, to report an issue.
(4) An employer or management representative who identifies a health and safety issue may report it to the health and safety representative, or if there is no representative, to the employees who work in that part of the workplace concerned.

7. PROCEDURE FOR RESOLVING ISSUES
(1) As soon as possible after an issue has been reported, the employer or management representative and the health and safety representative, or any employee nominated under regulation 5(4), must meet and try to resolve the issue.
(2) The resolution of the relevant issue must take into account any of the following factors that may be relevant-
(a) whether the hazard or risk can be isolated;
(b) the number and location of employees affected by it:
(c) whether appropriate temporary measures are possible or desirable;
(d) whether environmental monitoring is desirable;
(e) the time that may elapse before the hazard or risk is permanently corrected;
(f) who is responsible for performing and overseeing the removal of the hazard or risk.
(3) If any part involved in the resolution of the issue requests, the details of the issue and all matters relating to its resolution must be set out in writing by the employer to the satisfaction of all parties.
(4) As soon as possible after the resolution of an issue, details of the agreement, in a form that is approved by all parties and in the manner and in any language that is agreed by the parties to be appropriate -
(a) must be brought to the attention of the employees; and
(b) must be forwarded to the health and safety committee; and
(c) may be forwarded by the parties to any relevant organisation of employees or of employers.

HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES RAISED BY EMPLOYEES

HEALTH AND
SAFETY
REPRESENTATIVES / AGREED OR
PRESCRIBED
PROCEDURE / SUPERVISOR/MANAGER
EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVE
SECTION 21(4)(C)

PIN: CALL IN

BREACH OF ACT INSPECTOR:

OR REGULATIONS JOINT COMMITTEE PIN: STOP WORK:

SECTION 33(1) SECTION 37 ISSUE NOT

HSR MUST CONSULT RESOLVED IN

WITH EMPLOYER REASONABLE TIME

FIRST SECTION 26(4)

CEASE WORK: CALL IN

IMMEDIATE THREAT; INSPECTOR:

OR SITUATION WHERE STOP WORK;

IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE ISSUE NOT CEASE WORK:

TO ADOPT AGREED OR RESOLVED IN IMMEDIATE THREAT;

PRESCRIBED PROCEDURE. REASONABLE OR SITUATION WHERE

SECTION 26 TIME. IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE

SECTION 26(4) TO ADOPT AGREED OR

PRESCRIBED

PROCEDURE.

SECTION 26

CALL IN OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE:

UNION HSR OFFICER/CONSULTANT. UNION MANAGEMENT

SECTION 32.

Day One
Session.... / Drafting a Provisional Improvement Notice

Each group is required to fill in a Provisional Improvement Notice, using one of the hypothetical case studies provided.

In each case, the Group should assume that consultation has failed to resolve the issue.

Your group will need to select a spokesperson to report back to the main group.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Employer: Acme Pty. Ltd.

Lower Floor

114 William Street

Somewhere Victoria 3026

Supervisor: Carlos Rhodes

DWG: Lower Floor

Union: A.B.C.

HSR: Joan Smythe

CASE STUDIES

Your workplace has a small storeroom that is used for document boxes storage and the cleaners to store their chemicals also use it. Last week while attempting to remove large document boxes from the top shelf, two staff members were accidentally splashed with a cleaning agent. They have since developed a form of dermatitis on their hands, arms and faces. Management has responded by placing a notice on the store room door, telling staff to take more care in the future.
Your area has a noisy machine and the noise from this machine has been measured at 98dbA. You have approached your supervisor about the problem. The supervisor has arranged for a box of disposable earplugs to be available for anyone who requires them. However, after a week the staff is still complaining.
There is a large photocopier positioned in the centre of your general office area. This copier is in constant use by all staff and, as a result, the staff has complained to you about a “smell” which appears to be coming from the machine. Management has no plans to re-locate the copier, mainly due to budget restraints. One of the staff has recently read an article about “ozone” and suggests to you that maybe “ozone” could be the problem.
The Janitor in your building has told you that the evaporative cooling system for the building has not been cleaned for two years. Recently there have been a number of staff members off work with headaches, a high fever or various respiratory complaints. You have approached management about the problem; they have sympathised with you, but informed you that this is a situation over which they have no control, as they are only leasing the building.